A Royal Backstory
by SportsMetalWWEandPonyFan2578
Summary: While Celestia and Luna are packing up to leave Canterlot Castle forever, they begin reminiscing about when they were fillies. This is their backstory. Read and review! Thanks, guys!
1. A Fear of the Future

Princess Celestia went over the checklist on the clipboard hovering above her nose, carefully combing through her list of belongings to see if she had everything. In two days, she and Luna would transfer control of the kingdom of Equestria to Twilight, and she wanted to ensure she was thoroughly prepared. She and Luna had already agreed that, once they lost their consistent magic, they would move to a small retirement community just outside of Canterlot. That way, they could be around to offer advice to Twilight as she took the biggest step of her entire life.

Celestia sighed as millions of memories flooded through her mind. She remembered all the happiness she and her sister had shared during their time there. But she knew it was time to move on, and experience a lot of the aspects of life that they had been unable to during their reign. They each wanted a family of their own, and determined to marry a stallion as soon as they could. _That shouldn't be too hard, _Celestia said to herself, _I know we'll look a little different. Our manes won't constantly be flowing, but I thought we were rather pretty mares before we became princesses._

Suddenly, a voice shattered her daydream. "Reminiscing, Tia?" Luna asked as she entered the room and sat next to her sister. Celestia smiled at her, grateful for the use of her nickname. It was nice to be called something so informal. "Yes, Luna, I am," she said, "I was just thinking of all the great times we've had in this palace."

"I know what you mean," her sister replied, "I've been doing the exact same thing."

Celestia's look turned extremely pensive. "Do you ever wonder what the future holds for us?"

"Now, Tia, we've been over this multiple times. You and I both know that we want to retire, settle down, meet a couple of stallions, and start families of our own. We also want to travel and see the world beyond Equestria. That's what the future holds."

"But how do you know that's what the future holds?"

"I don't," Luna said, "but I'm confident enough in us that I know we'll make it there. After all, princesses can have dreams, too."

Celestia wanted to believe that her sister was right, but some nagging part of her dammed up her faith. Even though she didn't show it in front of anypony, she was scared of the future. She didn't know anything but the royal life. The magic inside her that gave her the gift of a long life would soon be gone and she would be constrained to the life expectancy of a normal pony. Would there be enough time for she and Luna to do everything?

"Your faith in what our future holds is strong, my dear sister," she said, "but I'm afraid mine…isn't."

"Look, Tia," Luna said soothingly, "I'm scared too. I know I have a strong faith in that area, but I also have a lot of fears and doubts. I don't want us to leave Canterlot and be on our own forever. I want us to have friends and families and hopes and dreams. I want us to be able to live normal lives, as anypony does."

"Do you think we should start a business?" Celestia suddenly asked.

"Business? But, Tia, our income from thousands of years as princesses has us set for the rest of our lives. We've saved every bit we ever made, and at last count, we had made 1.4 billion bits. So why on earth would we need to start a business?"

Celestia sighed. "I guess I just don't know how to meet ponies on a friendship level, and I thought starting a business would help with that."

"That's ridiculous, Celestia!" Luna said sharply, "of course you know how to meet ponies on that level! I mean, for crying out loud, you're the pony who taught Twilight everything she knows about friendship!"

"That doesn't mean I'm comfortable with it!" Celestia yelled back, "I'm used to everypony bowing to me and addressing me as 'Your Majesty' and using royal etiquette and all that. I don't know how to just be…one of the mares."

Luna realized that her sister was incredibly distressed over this notion. She scooted closer and nuzzled up against her, trying to offer the same support that she had for thousands of years. Her eyes glistened as she gave her sister a look that eschewed hatred in favor of a deep love. She wasn't upset with Celestia for speaking with her that way, but rather she understood the depth of Celestia's troubles.

"I get it, Tia," she said, "you're scared of what's going to happen to us the minute we step hoof outside this castle. Like I said, I'm scared too. But you just can't live your life in fear of other ponies. Where's the confident Tia? The regal Tia? The Tia that won't let anypony get in the way of her goals? I remember, when we were fillies, that was the Tia I knew. It was the same one that became the kind, compassionate, yet fiercely determined ruler of all Equestria. It was the same pony…" Here the princess stopped and shuddered, "…who sent me to exile on the moon for a thousand years."

Celestia's eyes widened as her mind suddenly relived the horrible night when her sister transformed into Nightmare Moon. One regal princess had battled another until the demonic presence was dispatched into the great orb of the night sky. She looked down at her sister and saw that she was reliving the same terrible experience.

"I…" Celestia started, but was stopped by Luna's hoof on her face.

"No," Luna said, "you don't need to say anything. I live with the guilt of Nightmare Moon on a daily and nightly basis. Every time I go into somepony's dreams and it turns out to be a nightmare, I am terrified. I relive everything I ever did as Nightmare Moon, and the pain is nearly too much for me to bear. I would have killed ponies in that form. I would have slaughtered the innocent and caused unborn foals to be put to death. I would have…"

Here Luna stopped and burst into tears. She crumpled to the floor and sobbed. In an instant, Celestia crouched down and put her hooves around her. "It's ok," she said, "you don't have to live that way anymore. You haven't had to for a long time. You forgave yourself for that, remember? The Tantabus can't get you anymore!"

"I can't help it, Tia!" Luna wailed, "I became that horrible she-demon! I was that awful pony! It lives within me, and I can't help but remember it!"

Celestia said nothing but kept her hooves around Luna, cradling her just like she did when they were small fillies. Back then, she had made a vow to always protect her sister, and that vow had been sorely tested over their lifespans. But through it all, it had remained intact, and she had done everything for her beloved sibling.

Suddenly, Celestia opened her mouth and began singing a sweet song. Her voice was like honey to Luna's ears and it calmed her nerves. The fragrant refrains filled the room, and soon Luna was singing as well. The sisters harmonized perfectly as they sang a song of their youth. It was one their mother used to sing to them so long ago, and it spoke of the never ending love that she had for them. In this case, Celestia used it to express the never ending love she had for Luna.

When they finished, Luna smiled at her sister. "Thank you, Celestia," she said, "I needed to hear that."

"You're welcome, my dearest Luna," Celestia replied with a smile of her own, "I needed to hear it as well. Now, come. We have more work to do prepare to leave."


	2. A Picture's Worth a Thousand Memories

Luna and Celestia moved into the former's room, trying to deduce what to take with them to their new retirement home. The Princess of the Day moved about her sister's belongings, attempting to locate one of Luna's beloved books. She loved reading, even more than Celestia did. Her personal library was filled with thousands of tomes, and she had read every single one of them. She was one of the smartest ponies in all Equestria, and sometimes Celestia harbored a great deal of disappointment that Luna had never taught in her school. But Luna was not the teaching type, and she had to sleep during the day.

Celestia nosed her way through some dusty knickknacks before finally coming up with the correct paperback. She floated it out of its hiding place and set it down in front of Luna. "Oh, thank you, Tia!" Her sister said happily as she hugged her. "I don't know what I would've done if this little beauty had been lost forever."

"What's so special about 'The Extensive Etymology of the Term 'Horn?'" Celestia asked. She really was puzzled. While learning about the origin of the word 'horn' could be a fascinating pastime, she found it odd that somepony would have gone to the trouble of publishing an exhaustive concordance on the subject. Moreover, she found it even more odd that her sister was in such a panic over something so monotonous.

"It's not the book itself that I'm concerned with," Luna said, "it's what's inside that I couldn't lose." She used her hoof to pry open the volume and there, sitting amongst the pages, was a certain picture. Celestia immediately recognized it and her eyes filled with happy tears as millions of memories flooded her mind. "Luna…this is-"

"A picture of you and I when we were nothing more than fillies."

Celestia sighed, "I remember those happy days."

"Me too," Luna nodded, "I was thinking over them while I was packing this stuff and I remembered that I had stashed this portrait in this book. When I couldn't find it, I became frantic. I don't want to lose that part of our lives, Celestia. We were never closer to each other than we were as fillies. I miss those days so much."

"As do I," Celestia said, "and that's part of the reason why we're retiring. I want to feel close to you again, my sister. I want that same bond we had when we were kids."

Luna chuckled, "do you remember what it was like to be a filly? I remember most of it, but it's been so long that the finer details have slipped from my grasp."

"Yes, I do remember. I remember being there the minute you were born, Luna…"

"…Push! Push!" Dr. Hoof Set ordered. The young mare in front of him was about to give birth to her second filly in two years. The pregnancy had been rough, and there had been numerous times where she had nearly miscarried. But the foal had survived and was now ready to make its grand entrance into the world.

"You've got to push, Heather Hoof! Push! Please, push!"

Heather screamed and grunted. She had felt a lot of pain during her first delivery, but this second one was murderous. Her mind felt like it was in a pool of agony as she cried aloud. Against her better judgment, and without complete control of her faculties, she began cursing the pain. The doctor understood her mental state and didn't judge her for it.

"Heather, think of your foal! You've got to push! Push! Push!"

With one final scream, the foal finally popped out and she sat back in relief, but still in a good deal of pain. The doctor took the foal over to the midwife, who began administering aid to it. He then returned to the young mother. "You did it, Heather Hoof. Congratulations!"

Heather breathed hard as she tried to regain control of herself. "Is it a colt…or a filly?" She asked between breaths. She already had one filly, and she was dying to know if she had another one. "It's a filly!" The midwife announced after a thorough examination. Heather gave a tired smile. She would have been happy with either gender, but a small part of her wanted another filly.

The midwife brought the small one over to where Heather lay and gently placed her in her hooves. She cradled her new daughter close and took note of her color pattern. She was a deep, dark blue. Her tiny horn peeked out from a bundle of light blue hair. She sneezed and opened her eyes. Her mother gasped at just how pretty her bright blue eyes were. _Just like your father…_ She told herself.

"So, Heather, do we get to know who the father of this one is?" Hoof Set asked. 

"No," she said, "it's not for you to know. The filly's here and that's all that matters. My little one…"

Suddenly, the door to the room burst open and another filly zoomed in, anxious to meet the new pony. This pony had a snow white coat and a pretty pink mane. She also had eyes of the brightest fuchsia. "Mommy! Mommy!" The young one squeaked, "I wanna see her! I wanna see her!"

"Shh!" Heather softly, yet sternly commanded her other daughter, "in a moment, Sunbeam. She's resting right now."

Sunbeam Bright Hoof the Third, better known by her nickname of Beam, stood aside and tried to patiently wait. But the waiting was hard, and the 2-year-old filly felt like time slowed to a trickle. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she was allowed to peer into the small bundle and see her sister for the first time.

"Wow…" Beam said, "she has Daddy's eyes." She knew the importance of keeping her father's identity a secret from everypony, but she still didn't understand why. After all, her father was one of the most important ponies in all of Equestria. She didn't know that, were other ponies to find out her father's identity, they might never respect him again. He had sworn himself to Equestria, and that meant never getting married. Other ponies looked to him to lead them instead of having a familial life of his own. "Equestria is my family," he'd very often say, "and they are enough for me."

But Beam didn't know all of this, so she just thought her parents didn't want to be together. That thought often caused her to break down in tears. Her young emotions didn't know how to deal with this idea. She thought pony parents were supposed to love each other, enough to get married and stay together forever. She loved the idea of marriage, and she hoped to find her own stallion one day.

"Yes, she does have a lot of your father's features," Heather said, "but we must keep it quiet. Remember, it's nopony's business who your father is. All they need to know is that-"

"-we are good and friendly fillies," Beam finished. "Mommy, I know that. I just wish you and Daddy would get married and stay together."

"You know very well that isn't an option," her mother said, "I know you love marriage, sweetie, and I do, too. I wish I could be in a position to marry your father. But, sometimes these things just don't fall into place. Rest assured that your father and I love each other and you, too. We don't need a piece of paper from the Equestrian government to prove that."

She gently bent down and kissed her beloved daughter on the top of her head. Beam giggled as her mother's kiss filled her with warmth. She was surrounded by Heather's love and devotion, and she knew that she would never, ever lose it.


	3. Dealing with Grumpy Ponies

Beam chased her younger sister through the palisades of their hometown of Neighagra Falls. They ran amongst the cottages, darting this way and that, each trying to deke the other sister and win their small game of tag. Ever since her sister, Moonlight Bright Hoof, had been born two years earlier, the two had been inseparable. Each night, Beam would tuck her sister, better known by her nickname of Moon, into bed and tell her a bedtime story. She would talk about Equestrian legends, and about the Fire of Friendship that had been lit hundreds of years before they had been born.

"I'm gonna get you!" Beam shouted with glee as she got ever closer to her sister's rump. But Moon dove out of the way, and the white filly tumbled down a small hill, landing in a heap at the bottom. From her perch at the top of the hill, Moon laughed. "You look so funny, big sister!"

"Oh, yeah?" Beam asked in a challenging way before darting up the hill faster than lightning and tackling her sister. They both laughed and squealed as they rolled around on the dirt in front of Mr. Cloth Mane's fabric store. Unfortunately for them, Cloth Mane was a bit of a grump and he just so happened to walk outside of his store at that moment.

"My goodness!" He said, "look at you two fillies! You're absolutely filthy! How in Equestria is your mother raising you?! You traipse around town, causing nothing but trouble, and now you're dirtying up, not only yourselves, but my nice clean store entrance. Go on! Scat!" The two fillies got up with sad looks on their faces and walked towards their cottage. "And stay away, you troublemakers!" Cloth yelled after them.

"Oh, I hate him!" Moon squeaked when they were out of earshot.

"Hey! That's not very nice," Beam chided her sister, "after all, he is one of our elders, and Mommy's always taught us to respect them." 

"Why does he have to be our elder?!" Moon questioned. "Why can't we have nice elders?!"

"We do have nice elders," Beam replied, "he just happens to be somepony who doesn't enjoy other ponies messing up his store front. I see his point; I just wish he weren't so mean about it."

"Me too," Moon said abruptly. "Beam…why can't everypony be nice?"

"Because ponies aren't perfect," her sister replied, "and Cloth Mane's no exception. In fact, we're no exception."

"But Mommy always tells us that we're good little fillies. If we're not perfect, then why does she tell us that?" 

"You can still be good without being perfect," Beam explained, "we do our best to follow the rules that have been set for us, and that's all we can do. Sometimes we do make mistakes and Mommy punishes us for it. But mostly, we are good little fillies. We're just not perfect, and we can't aspire to be that way."

For a minute, Moon walked along in silence. Her blue eyes flitted this way and that, trying to make heads or tails of her sister's explanation. Her small mind's gears whirred and banged around for a few minutes, but she couldn't quite come up with the answers her heart desired. She wanted very much to be a perfect little filly, to never break the rules and never be punished, but it seemed that was an impossible dream. Anyway, Beam had said that type of pony was nonexistent, and she was normally right about things.

She looked up to her big sister so much. She was happy that she had an older sister who would still take the time to romp and play with her as much as she wanted. She had seen other ponies around the falls with their siblings, and they had been completely ignored. So she was happy that Beam seemed to be the exception to that rule. She feared being ignored and alone. She didn't want to be surrounded by darkness. She hated the nighttime, because she felt that there were hideous monsters hiding all around her bedroom. Even though her name was Moon, she despised everything about it.

Suddenly, she had a thought. "Beam?" She asked

"Yes, Moon?"

"Do you believe anypony can do anything if he puts his mind to it?"

"Of course!" Her sister said happily, "that's one of the tenets of being a pony that I believe most strictly."

"Well….do you think, if we put our minds to it, that it's within the realm of possibility for you and I to become important ponies one day?"

Beam stopped and thought about it. "I guess so," she said, "but I'll be satisfied if we achieve our own individual dreams."

"Do you still remember our plan?"

"Yep! Step one: we go to school, study our rumps off, and pass with flying colors," Beam began

"Step two," Moon continued, "we find really handsome stallions, get married, and have families of our own!"

"Step three, we each find jobs in the field we want to work in. I want to be a librarian pony…"

"…and I want to be an Equestrian historian!"

The two fillies hopped with joy at their small plan. They had yet to explain these ideas to their mother and father. They didn't think that they might have a different destiny, one that would shape the very future of the land they called home. They didn't understand the role that fate had designed for them to play. It was one that would bring a lot of pride, joy, and happiness into their lives. But it was also one that would bring pain and suffering.

They didn't know that, before their time in the Equestrian work force was finished, they would encounter the spilling of pony blood, romances doomed to failure, and the very ending of their friendship. They didn't know the fights, tears, and late nights they would have to endure for the sake of everypony in their country. But they also didn't know that they would meet a certain purple pony who would change their lives forever.

As they ran home that afternoon, they were simply two fillies, bent on making their plan for their lives a reality. They wanted so much to grow up and be able to attend school with the other fillies and colts. Beam only had one more summer to wait before being enrolled in the Neighagra School for Foals, but Moon had a few more years to go. Little did they know it, but Beam's enrollment would catapult them into a spot in Equestrian folklore held by nopony else.


	4. The Meaning of Responsibility

Beam and Moon made their way over the small hoof bridge that led to their cottage. It was a rather simple place. It had only one floor, and the roof jutted over it in a small, yet rather foreboding manner. Inside, the floors were made of the softest carpet, and Beam often found herself getting lost with just how soft they were. The main room was adorned with just enough furniture to make the house feel like a home, but not enough to make it unwelcoming to anypony else. The two fillies' rooms were adorned in a likewise fashion, with things covering the wall that reflected the things the two enjoyed. Beam had a poster of her favorite author, R.A. Thoroughbred, plastered on the wall over her bed. Moon had a poster of R.C. Trot Mane, her favorite Equestrian historian, over her bed.

As they ran into their home, covered in mud and dirt from playing in front of Mr. Cloth Mane's store, they skidded to a halt. Heather Hoof was there, and she was eyeing her daughters with a great amount of displeasure. But she wasn't the only presence in the room. The two fillies shrank back as their father stepped forward. He was a kind and generous unicorn stallion with a deep grey coat, but his horn was sharp and sometimes his tongue could be even sharper. Their mother, a pretty white mare, could also have just as sharp of a tongue.

"I ran into Mr. Cloth Mane in town today," their father began, "he told me of two rambunctious young fillies who were rolling around in the dirt and making a mess of his store front. I believe I see the evidence all over your faces, as well as your coats. I'm rather disappointed in you two. I expect more out of my daughters."

"But Daddy," Moon protested, "we were only playing."

This time, it was Heather who spoke up. "Playing is all well and good, sweetie, but as daughters of a member of the Equestrian Council, you must learn to take responsibility for your actions."

"Your mother's right, my dear fillies," their father said, "responsibility is one of the most important things anypony can learn and master, and everypony should learn it. Unfortunately, some ponies don't. I will not have my daughters forego responsibility in favor of reckless playing. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Daddy," the two fillies said in unison with their tails drooping. They both loved their father so much and they hated disappointing him. They knew their family held a special place within their community, and they wanted to reflect that. All the same, going to constant parties and other social functions with their father got to be rather boring. What was worse, they couldn't address him as "father." They were simply "the daughters of a dear friend of his." They hated this forced title, and everything that came along with it. But most of all, they wanted to play and romp and have fun like the other colts and fillies got to do.

Suddenly, Beam had a thought. Their father lived in a mansion in the middle of town. Why on Earth was he there? "Daddy, normally we come and see you at your house," she said, "so…why are you here?"

Her father smiled down at her. "I came here, my dear, to tell you and Moon of…your destiny."

Suddenly, he turned and walked back into Beam's room. The curious foals followed their father. Their eyeballs might as well have been giant question marks. Their destiny? How could their father know what their destiny was? Nopony knew the future. It was up to them to decide what they were to be, wasn't it?

They got there and sat on their haunches, patiently waiting for their father to speak. He turned and addressed them not as fillies, but as mature mares. "My beloved daughters," he began, "I've never told you this, but the Equestrian government is incredibly corrupt. Peace and friendship are not sought, but blind collectivist thinking and an attitude of deep greed and perniciousness runs amok throughout our government's thinking. They have separated Equestria into groups based on who a pony is or where they are from, and they tax them accordingly. They have unfairly taxed unicorns for hundreds of years, but the law forbids anypony from taking action against them. Freedom, true freedom, is nonexistent in our land.

Everypony is miserable. They may look happy on the outside, but I see the way that they are when they think nopony's looking. They complain and grumble at their conditions, and they are right to do so. The government is more concerned with garnering praise from poor ponies and then taxing both them and rich ponies to death, then with doing what's right for everypony. They lie, cheat, and steal from normal ponies."

The two fillies looked at each other with their mouths agape. How could anypony be so cruel? Just hearing what they did to everypony made them both want to weep. What was worse, they had come to trust a lot of the ponies who sat on the Equestrian Council with their father. They didn't know that those same ponies were so undeniably corrupt.

"Listen, my dear ones, for I am about to pronounce your destiny upon you. Sunbeam, Moonlight, I believe you are the future of our country. You both show great compassion and love to everypony around you, but you also show ferocity and a brave determination against adversity. You understand that sometimes brute force is necessary, but other times brute knowledge is necessary. I want you to become the rulers of Equestria, and lead our ponies into the future! I have discovered a magic that can give you this power."

"But Daddy," Beam said, "we're just fillies! How in Equestria are we supposed to lead everypony?!"

"In time, you will understand, my love," he said, "but you've got to have faith in yourselves and in the Equestrian spirit. The Fire of Friendship, lit so long ago, is dying out. Ponies fight constantly, and our land is in turmoil. The Council will do nothing to help, and my speeches about trying to bring that fire back fall upon deaf ears. I want you to take responsibility and lead our ponies into a brighter tomorrow. What's more, you shall be given my power."

"Your power, Daddy?"

"Yes, the power that is held not just by me, but by seven of the great sorcerers in our land. But now is not the right time. You are still fillies, and you have a lot of growing up to do. I shall keep the corruption at bay as best as I can and, in three years' time, we shall meet in The Cavernous Cavern. There, you shall see me as father for the final time, and shall be reborn as Equestria's new princesses."


	5. Corruption Hits Close to Home

A/N: Hey, everyone! Sorry for the lack of an update yesterday, but my work schedule was kinda crazy. Now we're back and ready to continue Celestia and Luna's backstory!

The next three years went by quicker than anypony thought they would. Beam and Moon each truly learned the means and methods of responsibility and grew into fine young mares. But Beam seemed to take everything a little more seriously than her sister did. She was adamant about her studies and would often shut the door to her room for hours on end, burying herself in her books. She wanted to make her father proud. After all, not everypony was the daughter of the great pony wizard…Star Swirl.

Yes, friends, Star Swirl was the girl's mysterious father and, although he didn't see them as often as he would have liked, he still loved them very much. He knew when each of them had something important happening in their life and he made sure to support them through it. His inward generosity with his daughters matched his outward philanthropy to the ponies of Equestria. If somepony needed his help, whether they were rich or poor, stallion or mare, foal or adult, he would take the time to help them.

But his conscience constantly bothered him. His promise to keep the whole of Equestria as his family ate away at his mind and underscored his own happiness. He wanted so much to be able to come out publically and claim Heather Hoof as his bride and Beam and Moon as his daughters, but he knew if he did that, he would be thrown off the Equestrian Council. He needed to keep his position there until his daughters were old enough to receive the great gift and destiny that he had in store for them. _Just a little bit longer, _he would say to himself, _and then I can come forth in truth. I will apologize to Equestria for being this way, but I am sure they shall see I was only doing it for their own good. After all, nopony would want to be led by somepony who was so lascivious. _

Therefore, he kept his romantic exploits to himself. It wasn't easy, but he managed to keep his mouth shut. He expected the same from Heather Hoof and their daughters. But Moon was difficult to control. Sometimes, she would tell the other colts, fillies, and younger adult ponies about him. She never spoke his name, but she could sometimes give very detail oriented descriptions of just what kind of a pony her father was. Then she would shut right up when the inevitable query about the stallion's name came around.

One day, as they neared the completion of their three-year education cycle, Moon went to Beam to discuss this quandary. As always, her sister had her nose buried in a book, studying hard in order to make Star Swirl proud of her. "My dear sister," Moon said, "I'm getting so sick and tired of having to cover up for Daddy's lies! Why can't we discuss his name in public?"

"You know darn well why we can't do that," her sister retorted. "If we were to say his name out loud, he would get tossed off the Equestrian Council, and our family would be disgraced forever. We would be seen as nothing but liars and cheats."

"But, Beam, if the Council itself is as corrupt as Daddy says it is…then…how the hay is he any different?"

Suddenly, Beam got up and stood nose to nose with her sister. "You shut that little yap of yours, Moon!" She said angrily, "Daddy is the kindest and most generous pony in all Equestria! You know that!"

"But he's lying about us!" Moon said as her temper began boiling, "and I can't take it anymore! The Council is corrupt, and that corruption has bled over into our father's moral fabric! I'm going to tell the first pony I see tomorrow about Daddy!"

She turned to leave. She knew in her heart she was doing the right thing. But Beam stepped up and stood in front of her. "NO!" She screamed, "I won't let you! You won't disgrace our family!" Moon gritted her teeth and prepared to fight her way out of the room, but suddenly the door opened. "Is everything alright in here, my dear daughters?"

It was their father, Star Swirl. He had begun to grow a beard and looked a little different than he used to, but they would know that soft, yet commanding voice anywhere. "No, Daddy," Beam answered before Moon could say anything, "nothing's wrong. We were just…talking over the trade routes between our nation and Maretonia."

"Ah, yes," he said, "that is a good thing for you two to study, because your destinies will involve a lot of that." 

"So…let me get this straight," Moon spoke up, "we're gonna become princesses and rule over Equestria, right?"

"That's right, my Moonlight."

"But don't queens normally rule?"

"The title of princess is a softer one. A queen could be seen as being vicious and cruel, a ruthless dictatorial pony of the worst caliber. But a princess can be seen as being loving and kind, while also being determined and brave."

Moon was very confused. Her father wanted to bequeath a title on her of love and friendship, and expected her to live up to it, yet at the same time, he was living a gigantic fabrication. She had never expected the great Star Swirl to be so utterly hypocritical about things. How could she ever trust him again?

_I won't, _she said as she forced herself to hide a scowl. _He may have helped create me. He may have slept with my mother. He may be my daddy, biologically speaking…but it takes way more than that to be a true father. _Outwardly, she smiled and nodded. "Whatever you say, Daddy," she said sweetly. _I'm coming for you, _she said to herself, _you're just as corrupt as anypony on that Equestrian Council. When I become a princess, I'm going to make sure all of you are banished to the farthest wastelands of our world, you worthless hypocritical son of a witch! _


	6. Coronation in a Cave

Beam and Moon followed their mother down into the deepest part of The Cavernous Cavern. If this name seems rather redundant to you, don't fret. It had confused many a traveling pony in those parts. They would walk by and see the sign in front of the yawning maw of the cave and immediately think that whoever named it was either very stupid or not very creative. Then they would head into the village of Neighagra Falls and discover the true meaning behind the odd moniker. The cave was so incredibly sufficient in depth and width that the pony who discovered it didn't come out for two entire months. When he did reemerge, he was a shell of his former self and all he could say was that it was the most cavernous cavern he had ever explored. Thus the cave came about its strange, yet befitting name.

The two young mares that now descended its treacherous, rocky, and very dimly lit passages had many fond memories of playing around the mouth of the cave. But they were strictly forbidden from entering it, for fear of them getting lost or falling into one of its much deeper crevices. Ponies had died attempting to explore the daunting labyrinth, and it took an expert guide to successfully navigate the winding pathways. Their play had once led them right to the very edge of the cavern itself, but they had immediately shied away from it. But their fear was of what kind of punishment their mother would bestow upon them, rather than a fear of certain death.

"I've always wanted to come in here," Moon said as they traversed their way towards where their father had said to meet him, "now I understand why mother and father never allowed us in."

"Indeed," responded her sister as she flitted her pink mane around. A stray hair had gotten caught over her eye and it was quite a major annoyance. She stopped and shook her head viciously, trying to remove the visionary obstruction. "There," she said satisfactorily once this small mission had been accomplished, "now I can see clearly."

They followed their mother down around a small lake within the cave's walls. "Watch your step, my loves," Heather Hoof cautioned tenderly as she bent down and slipped through a small opening. Beam and Moon quickly followed, and they emerged beside an even bigger portion of the lake. They looked around and noticed that it was much brighter in this room. The moon and the stars reflected off the lake through a large opening in the cave's roof.

"Welcome, my dear daughters," a voice said out of the darkness. The shadows suddenly parted way and Star Swirl stepped forth into the light. Beam and Moon stood in solemn respect. They knew how important this night was, not just for them, but for their entire family and the country of Equestria.

"I am pleased to have both of you here this evening," Star Swirl continued, "because this marks the beginning of a new day in Equestria. You, my beloved ones, shall become the rulers of our land. The three tribes, unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony alike, shall follow your hoof steps and heed your commands. You shall be bequeathed with a great gift, a magic unlike any in the history of Equestria, or the world itself."

"Pardon me, father," Moon said, "but…what exactly is this gift?" She was still wary of the corruption that had infected the Equestrian Council and its impact on her father's moral compass. She didn't trust him. She felt completely betrayed by him. She thought he would be proud to have the two of them as daughters, but instead he hid them like some kind of dirty secret. He even had their coronation ceremony in a cave away from everypony else. _This isn't the royal welcome I was expecting, _she said to herself, _but more than that, how can the daughters of a liar be fair and just rulers of an entire kingdom?_

"This gift, my love, is an incredibly long life."

"A long life?"

"Indeed. In my in depth research into what magic is and what it does, I have found a potency powerful enough to create elongated life. Unfortunately, immortality itself is quite unachievable. You will still die someday, my dears, but death will only be reserved for you after you have completed everything that you are meant to do."

"Meant to do?" Beam asked.

"Yes. The magic works in this manner. I do not know where it came from or the processes by which it transforms your lifespan, but I know this. It is as powerful as the original magic that created our world in the first place. It is born of the Everfree Runestone itself."

The sisters gasped. The Everfree Runestone was the most cherished and sacred magical item in all Equestria. Ponies made pilgrimages to it. They worshipped it. They would offer small sacrifices to it and pray that somehow it could help them out of their troubles. Moon and Beam had always found that method a little extreme, but they knew of the stone's importance to their land. Without it, all the magic in Equestria would dry up.

"How can you give this to us?" Moon asked. "Have you…tampered with the stone?"

"No, my love, I have not. I did make my own pilgrimage there and I found this magic. I knew someday that somepony would have to rise up against the corruption of the Council; to be the solution to this problem, and I firmly believe that the stone knew of the two of you and selected you to be that solution."

Moon and Beam looked at each other nervously. How in Equestria could they be seen as solutions to anything? True, they were incredibly smart, very gifted ponies. But all the same, they were just mares. How on Earth could they do anything? They couldn't even see their way through the cave. How could they be expected to fight such corruption?

But their father didn't give them a chance to ponder this any longer. "Moonlight and Sunbeam, I hereby bequeath this magic to you. You shall become a new type of pony species, one that combines elements of all three in harmony and friendship. You shall be the first…Alicorns!"

With that, he shot a magic beam at both of them and the young mares felt their bodies begin growing. Pain as sharp as a knife shot through Sunbeam as her flanks began changing and molding. Suddenly, a brand new pair of wings sprouted. She looked at them in complete shock before turning to her sister. Her cry was agonizing. She felt weights on her shoulders that she never would have felt. "Moon!" She cried, "I can't take it! It's too much!"

"Neither can I!" Moon cried. Beam noticed that her sister had sprouted wings as well. "What the hay is happening right now?!"

"I don't know, but I…need you!"

As soon as Beam said this, the pain went away. The burden on her shoulders felt three times lighter and she collapsed against her sister. Moon did the same, and their mother quickly raced over and helped them back to their hooves. Beam noticed that her sister's mane had transformed quite dramatically. It flowed freely, even with the lack of wind inside the cave, and it twinkled with the beauty of the stars.

"Moon…your mane…"

Moon looked back at her with the same shocked expression. "Beam, your mane's doing the same thing!" Beam looked and noticed that her mane flowed with all the colors of a beautiful rainbow. Her tail flowed in the same manner. She was also twice the size of her very own father. She bent down and looked into his eyes. "What is this, father?"

"This is your destiny…Celestia," her father answered. Beam shrank back a bit. Celestia? Who on Earth was Celestia?

"Who is Celestia, father?" She asked simply.

"That is your new name. Princess Celestia the First of Equestria. Moon, you are now Princess Luna the First. You shall both make wonderful rulers, and I expect only the best from you. This is the greatest task you shall ever attempt in your lives. Make me proud, my daughters."

He finished and smiled at them, imparting all his warmth and love for them into the gesture. They smiled back, and noticed that even their grins were much wider then they had been. They were the new rulers of Equestria, and this prospect excited them. They each thought about all the good they could do in their new positions, and all the different ponies they might help. All the same, the reality dawned on them that they would have to fight to claim their thrones. The Equestrian Council weren't going down without one. But they knew that they had the magic of sisterhood and friendship on their side, and that magic wasn't easily defeated.


	7. The Gift of Celestial Control

Star Swirl looked on with pride at his two daughters. This was what he had raised them for. They were meant to be the rulers of their beloved home, and they were meant to overthrow a corrupt government to do it. He knew of the deceit and lasciviousness that plagued the Equestrian Council, and he was bound and determined to eradicate it once and for all. He felt that his name would go down in history as the stallion who gave birth to the royalty Equestria deserved. He controlled the destiny of Equestria, and he would pull on his daughters' strings to ensure that the nation survived.

"Celestia? Luna?" He asked as he addressed both of them by their new names. The two mares, who now towered over their father, sat on their haunches and listened closely. "You are now Alicorns, and have been granted the gift of an extremely long life. You shall rule Equestria for thousands of years, granting friendship, harmony, and peace to everypony. I believe in you, and so does your mother. But, we aren't quite finished here."

"We aren't?" Celestia asked. She found that her voice had deepened, sounding much more mature and wise than it once had. She rather enjoyed it because it made her feel incredibly important. Maybe she and Luna were vital to the future of Equestria. Maybe they could rule together, and bring a lasting happiness to the country.

"No, my dear, we aren't. It is time for you to receive your final, and most important gift. The gift of a cutie mark."

Luna and Celestia both turned and looked at their flanks. They blushed when they saw how barren they were. Both ponies were rather embarrassed that they had been given the title of "princess" without even possessing their own cutie marks. The notion seemed irredeemably futile, and even amusing to a point.

"Celestia, point your horn towards the sky," their father commanded, "it's almost morning, and it is time for you to raise the sun."

"What?!" Celestia suddenly yelled. "Raise the sun?! But, father, I don't have that capability. Only you and the seven pony sorcerers who you work with have that power!"

"Ah, my dear Celestia, you fail to realize your own lineage. You see, the seven sorcerers are simply there to offer support. In actuality, our family has been in charge of raising the sun and the moon for centuries. It is a magical gift bequeathed to our great ancestor, Ponytheus."

"Ponytheus? The pony of legend? He was real?!"

"Indeed he was, my dear daughter. He was a great pony, who raised the sun and moon by himself for many, many years."

"But, father, who gave him this gift of celestial control?" Luna asked.

"It was the original magic of Equestria. The same magic that has been in our universe well before the dawn of time itself. The magic that created our world and all the first ponies in it. Ponytheus was the son of two of these original ponies, and the magic, who had created the sun and the moon and had first caused them to rise, gave its power to him. It saw that he was worthy, when he showed compassion and kindness to two foals who had fallen by the roadside. They were poor and quite dirty, and one of them had even broken its leg. They were orphans, and he took them in as his own foals. These two were your grandmares from generations long past. He gave his power to them, and they gave it to their foals. It was passed down through the ages until it found its way into my own horn. Now, I choose to give it to you. Celestia, please."

So the white mare pointed her horn towards the sky. Suddenly, she felt a great deal of power surge through it and the great yellow orb of the day flew into place. She maneuvered her head a bit, trying to get the hang of controlling an object so gigantic. It was difficult, and her father stifled a smile as he remembered his own troubles with getting the sun to rise for the first time.

"There," he said encouragingly, "you're getting the hang of it. Tonight, Luna, you shall raise the moon for the first time."

Luna didn't respond, but put on a happy face. Inside, she was still seething against her father's lies. She didn't want any part of his power. She wanted to remain Moonbeam, but use her new position to fight against all of the corruption she saw within him. She wanted to throw her father out of any leadership position and banish him to the farthest reaches of Equestria. But she knew it would take time, and a lot of convincing, to get her sister to agree to such a thing. So she continued smiling and nodding as she watched Celestia finally put the sun in its proper place.

"Very good, my dear!" Star Swirl said approvingly, "I am very impressed! You'll make a natural sun raiser, as I'm sure your sister will do the same for the moon. I am very proud of the two of you. Now, make your way back out of the cave. You have a kingdom to take!"

So Celestia and Luna returned out of The Cavernous Cavern. They left the yawning maw behind and ventured forth into the warm sunlight. Luna suddenly stopped and lay on the grass. She beckoned her sister to join her, and she did so. "So…what are we gonna do about it?" She asked.

"Do about what?" 

"Father." 

"Why on Earth would we do anything about him?" Celestia asked. She had noticed her sister's hostility towards Star Swirl growing more and more by the minute. But she saw nothing wrong with the great destinies that he had given them.

"He's part of it!" Luna said abruptly. "Don't you get it?! Father is lying about us!" 

"Oh, here we go again," Celestia said, rolling her eyes, "our father is not lying about anything! He's doing it to protect us!"

"Protect us, or protect his position on the Council? If he hadn't made that foolish promise to 'keep Equestria as a family,' and if he had married Mother before having us, we wouldn't be in this mess right now!"

"It's not a mess, Luna! Open your eyes!" 

"No! You open your eyes, Celestia! Our father is a crooked, lying pony, and we have to stop him before he corrupts the entire country!"

"You're sick! How dare you call your own father a liar!"

"I'm sick?! You're the one who's sick for defending him!"

The fighting sisters got up and snorted in each other's faces. Neither one of them wanted to fight, but they had each taken a solid stand and they felt that they couldn't take it back. Would the two royal sisters be split apart before they had even taken the throne?


	8. Celestia's Dream

Celestia went to bed that evening in a complete rage. Her sister had dared to disgrace their father's good name, and she couldn't believe it. Her disbelief had mounted into a torrent of anger and she didn't think she would ever be able to forgive Luna for it. _She doesn't know the first thing about our father! _She huffed to herself as she lay under the covers, _in fact, I don't even think she gets his entire modus operandi! His mission and purpose is to stop the corruption of the Equestrian Council, not to be embedded with it. She dares to curse his moral fabric, and tatter it. When I become ruler of this land, she will pay dearly for this outrage!_

With this selfish thought, she fell into a troubled slumber. But her dreams were racked with images of blood, death, and an eternal separation between the two of them. She had never felt so lonely. Without Luna there to support and comfort her, she felt as if her life might never again be happy. After all, she loved her sister. She didn't want to throw her into prison or banish her to the farthest reaches of the world. She wanted them to be together for the rest of their lives.

"I'm sorry!" She cried out in her dreams, "I didn't mean it! I know Daddy wants us to rule together, and I do, too! I need you, Luna!"

Hearing no response, and figuring her cries to be futile, she found herself settling on one of the highest cliffs in Equestria. She prepared to fling herself into the sea and deliver self-imposed justice for her cruel internal comments. She didn't stop to see the wisdom in Luna's argument. All she saw was how it had bashed the love and devotion she carried for their father, and she was willing to do anything to defend it. She didn't want their family to be divided, and she couldn't believe that the horrifying things that the Council was alleged to have done could have bled over into her father's character.

So, she prepared to dive headlong into the chilly water below. She wanted to be enveloped in them, to sleep peacefully as she drowned beneath the waves. She would let the iciness be the final judge, jury, and executioner. She closed her eyes and purposely furled her wings. She stepped backwards and mentally readied herself. She had just begun galloping towards the edge when something struck her from out of nowhere. It knocked her to the side and pinned her down. She waved her hooves uselessly in the air, and she couldn't unfurl her wings and fly away.

"Get off of me!" She yelled angrily, "I was just about to end it! I was going to be free from all this strife!"

"Would you have really been free?" A voice asked. It sounded vaguely familiar, but Celestia couldn't quite make it out. It seemed garbled, as if whoever was speaking was chewing on a thousand apples at once. Yet she could understand the words. _A voice where I can understand the words, but the tone and spirit itself is garbled…where have I heard this before?_

With a start, she realized who was speaking. "Luna?" She asked tentatively.

Suddenly, her sister materialized out of the darkness. Celestia was struck by her elegant beauty. She looked completely different within the dream realm. She seemed much wiser than in the regular world. Some part of Celestia was registering this as being a dream, yet her sister seemed incredibly real.

"Luna…what are you doing here?"

"It's another one of our father's gifts. He gave me the magical power to see inside somepony's dreams. It is one I will never abuse, and one I am thoroughly grateful for."

Celestia smiled as Luna got off of her. She stood back up and embraced her sister. "I'm so glad you're here, Luna! I'm also glad that, apparently, you've come to your senses. See? Father isn't a bad pony!"

But Luna scowled in return. "Just because he gave me this gift, and the power to raise the moon, doesn't mean that I will let him off the hook for his lies. Celestia, open those ears of yours and listen! Daddy's been lying about us from day one! Do you honestly believe that a stallion who was truly proud of his daughters would keep their true relationship to him a complete secret from everypony?"

Celestia's face fell. She truly believed that her sister's attitude had changed. She thought they could go back to being a happy family. But now she saw that wasn't the case. So she put on a scowl of her own and stood against her sister. "How dare you?! Even in my dreams, you show up and throw our father under the horse cart!"

"Celestia, LISTEN!" Her sister screamed. Celestia was silenced by Luna's thunder and shrank back a bit. "You've let your unconditional love for our father blind you to the truth that's sitting right in front of your nose! Our father is not the noble stallion that everypony thinks he is! He's just as corrupt as the rest of those scoundrels, and now we're in a position to do something about it!"

"No…I could never-"

"You could never what?! Be pony enough to fight your own father?! Celestia, listen. We were put on this Earth to do good for everypony. We've been given gifts and we've been put in a place where we can help ponies. Equestria is miserable, Celestia, and we can help save them from their misery! The Tree of Harmony that our father planted before we were born? It's dying, Celestia! The Council may lie and tell everypony that it's rich and teeming with abundance, but I've seen it. My first journey through the dream realm has taken me there. One of the Council members was dreaming of it, and it is dying. The dishonesty and malevolence of the Council is tearing the tree apart. The Fire of Friendship has dimmed, and we are the only ones who can bring it back. Celestia, I need your help with this. I can't do it alone. We've never done anything separately, ever since we were small. This is no different. But I need you to trust me…please."

She held out her hoof to the now quivering Celestia. The white mare hadn't realized that the nation was in such dire straits. But now she did, and she had a decision to make. Either she would defend the title and honor of her father, or she would defend the friendship that Equestria's very foundation rested upon. It all depended on whether or not she took her sister's hoof.


	9. An Entanglement of Morals and Logic

Celestia reached out her hoof in response to her sister's gesture of unity, but then she pulled it back. Did she really want to join Luna in attempting to defeat the entire Equestrian Council, including their father? Was this the right path for them to take? There were so many questions, so many things unknown about the future. But more than that, was she willing to trust in her sister?

"I…I just don't know," she finally said out loud, "there are too many things that could go wrong."

"So let them go wrong!" Luna said, "nopony said we would be perfect rulers. Come on, Celestia, it's our first day! There are bound to be lots of days where things don't go right, but we need to stick together through them. This is a rough patch, but we can weather it if we weather it by each other's side! I believe in you…Tia!"

Celestia's ears perked up at the new nickname her sister had bequeathed upon her. She didn't know why, but for some reason it warmed her. She felt new life course through her body, and she was no longer afraid of bringing her father's dishonesty to the public. History might see him as a great pony wizard, but this generation would know him for the corrupt scoundrel that he was. She arose and took Luna's outstretched hoof and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you, Luna. I needed to hear that."

"I needed to convince myself of it as well," Luna said, "I hate to admit it, but I've had my doubts about all of this. But we have a great destiny, and it starts tonight. You and I are sisters, through thick and thin, and we must always be that way. Sure, we may fight. Who knows? Someday one of us might turn into an evil monster and the other one might have to make a heart wrenching decision that saves the future of everypony in Equestria. Either that, or our lives will be wonderful and filled with sunshine, rainbows, and happiness forever. Nopony knows the future, Celestia, but I know we can stick through anything together."

Celestia smiled down at her younger sister, who had suddenly turned into the wisest pony in Equestria. The beauty of night flowed through her coat, and Celestia felt all of her troubles melt away. Little did she know it, but legends would be written about Luna's appearance in the dream realm. They would describe the exact picture Celestia was seeing. A beautiful blue pony princess floating out of the moon to defeat nightmares and bestow wisdom and tranquility upon the sleeper.

"Oh, Luna…" Celestia said, "…you truly are grown up."

"I had to grow up sometime," Luna said as she chuckled, "I couldn't stay a filly forever. Neither could you."

"Yes," Celestia said, "you're right. Fillyhood was fun, but it's time to leave it behind and venture forth into our lives as adult ponies. We must defeat the Equestrian Council and usurp their thrones for our own. Equestria's future depends on it."

Luna nodded as she moved the moon high overhead so they could see better within Celestia's dream. "Yes, my dear sister," she said, "but we mustn't let them know that we know about our father's own corruption."

"I still feel terrible about wanting to defeat my own father and take power for myself," Celestia said.

"You've got to put those feelings aside, Tia," Luna said, using her sister's new nickname again, "for the good of Equestria. We aren't taking power for ourselves. We aren't selfish ponies."

"Then why the hay do I feel so selfish?!"

"That's normal, Celestia! We're about to, essentially, establish a coup d'état. If we fail, then Equestria is doomed. Every mare and stallion on that Council must be punished for their crimes, and the only way to do that is to take their power for our own. I know it seems selfish, but remember, we're doing this for the good of Equestria."

"But what about…our father? I don't think I could ever punish him."

"We'll deal with him in the same way we'll deal with every other member of the dais. We will judge him according to his actions. That's what good rulers do."

Celestia took a moment to think about this. She loved her father with all her heart, and she didn't want to deliver punishment on him. She wished with every fiber of her being that she could return to being a small filly, back when her father would pick her up and swing her around. She would laugh and squeal in delight until he set her back on the ground. Then she would beg him to do it again.

"I have so many memories…"

"So do I," Luna said, "but I've chosen to eradicate them. Don't look at who he was, look at who he is! He's on the Council, and we've been dispatched to defeat all of them. We must be vigilant in our duties. After all, we're the rulers of Equestria now."

"We rule nothing until we take those thrones," Celestia said bluntly, "there's still time to take everything back. We can return!"

"No, we can't!" Luna said, frustrated at her sister's apparent change of heart, "we have to defeat the Council, whether you like it or not! It's our mission! It's the only way we can bring peace and restore true friendship to our land!"

Celestia shook her head a bit, trying to resolve what she was going to do with what she thought was the right thing to do. Her morals and logic became entangled, and she felt as if she were drowning in a sea of emotion. _How do I attack my own father? It's so wrong, but in this case, it would actually be right! UGH! I HATE ALL OF THIS!_

Suddenly, she fell to the ground, sobbing. Luna was quick to put her hooves around her and console her. "I know," she said compassionately, "I had the same reactions as well. I wanted to cry when I figured out just how corrupt our father really was. But, we must not waver and we can no longer tarry here. Morning is approaching and you must be awake to raise the sun for everypony. But before we leave this realm, tell me…will you commit to saving Equestria, even if it means defeating our father?"

Celestia sniffed and looked up at her younger sister. She realized that she must look like a blubbering foal next to her. This was no way for a dignified princess to act. So she sat up and took hold of her sister's nearby hoof. "Luna…let's go save our home."


	10. Plans, Strategies, and Arguments

Over the next few days, Celestia and Luna worked out their strategy for confronting the Equestrian Council and, hopefully, defeating them. It wasn't an easy process, and the sister's found themselves arguing more and more as they went along. It seemed that their arguments had become more heated ever since they had been given their new positions. Celestia wanted to be bold and brave. She wanted to burst through the doors of the Council's chamber and declare that the time for a new day in Equestria was nigh. Luna, on the other hoof, wanted to take a subtler approach. Her plan involved a lot of sneaking and surprising.

There were major flaws with both of their ideas, but neither of them were willing to admit it. Celestia's plan didn't take into account the hundreds of guards that were posted around the chamber walls and doors. They would also have to deal with a security system that was quite innovative for their time. Traps and lethal fates awaited anypony who didn't know just where to tread along the treacherous chamber passages.

Luna's plan, while it would work in getting rid of some of the guards, didn't take into account that there would always be another guard to take the first one's place. It also didn't factor in the basic blueprints of the chamber. If it did, then she would have known that there was no place for anypony to sneak in properly. Their best bet would have been to start outside the chamber in the surrounding moat and swim up through the small underground lake that sat right under the Council's meeting room. Unfortunately, that swim was almost impossible.

"OK, look," Celestia said one day in the midst of one of their arguments, "it's obvious your plan isn't going to work, Luna. There's no way for us to sneak into that chamber!"

"It's not like your plan's any better," Luna retorted as she huffed at Celestia, "I mean, really. Just bursting in and announcing a takeover? We'd be killed on the spot!"

"Not if they don't extrapolate the magic from within us!"

"You know darn well that the magic flows within our blood! If we bleed out, the magic bleeds out, too!"

Celestia wanted to respond, but then she realized that Luna was right. They could be seriously hurt. She sighed in defeat. "I hadn't thought of that, Luna, but you're right. The magic inside us could evaporate as suddenly as water from the lake."

Suddenly, the white mare's face took on a rather anguished look. "Oh…I hate this! Why is it that ever since we became princesses, we've been fighting more and more? We need to be working together!"

Luna looked at the floor and Celestia saw her cheeks go bright red. "You're right, Tia. What's the matter with us? Here we are, trying to defeat a corrupt government body and restore true friendship to Equestria, and we're not acting like friends!"

"I'm sorry, Luna," Celestia said, "for everything. We've been terrible to each other here lately, and I-"

Celestia didn't have time to finish, because Luna wrapped her up in a hug. Celestia warmly returned it and the two sisters felt newfound energy flood their bodies. It was as if the entire world had suddenly been reset, and everything was in its proper place. They broke apart and smiled at each other, each one grateful beyond measure for the presence of her sister.

"Maybe we don't need an overly complicated, incredibly detailed plan," Luna said, "maybe…we just need to confront it head on and whatever happens, we'll face it together."

"Yes!" Celestia said, "I agree with that!"

"Buck the plans!" 

"Amen, sister!"

They both stopped and chuckled sheepishly. They felt like fillies again, ready to go off on an exciting adventure together. Suddenly, all the weight and responsibility had been thrown off of their shoulders. It was replaced by a lighthearted togetherness that neither one of them wanted to let go of. Somewhere in their minds, they did retain some semblance of just how important their mission was. But on the outside, they bounced around like young ponies.

"Come on, Celestia!" Luna said, "we have a country to save!"

So they galloped out of their home and raced towards the old castle that the Council used for their chamber. Luckily, Neighagra Falls was the capital of Equestria (this was in the days before Canterlot), so they were used to running to the castle to meet their father. They knew the way like the back of their hooves, and they made good time running towards the door.

But then Luna stopped and pulled her sister into some bushes. "Luna!" Celestia whispered annoyedly, "what was that for?!"

"SH!" Luna said as she put her hoof up to Celestia's mouth. Just then, some guards trooped by, led by a rather loud captain who was saying some rather uncouth things about mares. Celestia and Luna both turned bright shades of red at some of the things he was saying.

"The nerve of some ponies!" Celestia said. But Luna, who had hung around the castle much more than her big sister, was used to it. "If you think that's bad, you should hear some of the things the mare captains say about stallions. Now, come on!"

The two new princesses popped out of the bushes and trotted cautiously towards the main door. They stopped behind one of the nearby buildings and tried to strategize their next move. "Nopony will recognize us since we became Alicorns," Luna said, "so we must do this carefully."

"Agreed," Celestia said, and then her brain went to work. "I know!"

"What?"

"We need to create some type of a diversion and lure the guards away from their posts." She looked around at her hooves and noticed a rather large rock. She used her magic to pick it up and fling it into the bushes near the doorway. The guards quickly ran to investigate whatever it was that dared crash on the Council's property. "OK, go!" Luna said softly, but firmly. The two ponies quickly ran up to the doorway and went through it.


	11. Overcoming Obstacles and Each Other

Celestia and Luna traversed the narrow corridor of the Council's chambers, carefully moving from hoof to hoof around the booby trapped tiles. "We'll never make it at this rate," Celestia complained, "I hate having to hop around like a rabbit!"

"I know it's a little obstructive, but we'll be safer this way," Luna consoled her older sister. It seemed like, the further they got into the chamber, the worse Celestia's attitude got. She complained about everything, and it was getting on Luna's nerves. She loved her sister, but she still hadn't gotten over the small bouts of selfishness that she possessed when they were fillies.

Celestia rolled her eyes and groaned. She didn't see why they couldn't just go barging ahead, traps or not. After all, they couldn't be that horrible. Ponies still had to come to the Council with their concerns and not be frightened off. She didn't understand the extensive amount of research Luna had done on both the history and the design of the castle. If she had bothered to ask her, she would have found out that every trapped tile contained a different lethal trap. The ponies who visited the Council were guided in by chamber experts. One wrong hoof step, and their blood would stain the floor.

"How much further?" She asked.

"Just a little bit, but for Equestria's sake, be careful! You almost planted your hoof on that tile!" She pointed to a small tile with a picture of a beautiful mare on it. "How is this a trap?" Celestia asked. "If the tiles contain pictures of attractive ponies, then it's always a trap. It was set up this way so that thieves who broke in would be killed, no matter what gender they were. They would be distracted by the nice looking ponies in the engravings and stomp their hooves on them. Then, they could be burned or shot with sharp arrows or sliced right down the middle with an axe! Some legends even purport that there was a hammer that would swing down out of the ceiling and smash the face of one of the ponies."

"Wouldn't it be odd if somepony wrote a song about a hammer smashed face?" Celestia asked.

"I guess so," Luna said, "but what pony would do that?"

Celestia shrugged and the conversation ended. They continued hopping from tile to tile until they got to the end of the corridor. Then, they turned the corner and found their next obstacle. "See that rope bridge?" Luna asked, pointing her hoof at it. Celestia nodded. "Yeah, I see it. But it looks so rickety and frayed."

"That's because it is. We can only cross one at a time, as the bridge will only hold that much weight. It was purposely built poorly so that, if anypony crossed it unauthorized, it would snap and hurtle them down there." She pointed to the deep chasm under the bridge that led directly into a field of sharp spikes. Celestia cringed as she imagined either herself or Luna plummeting to their deaths, their bodies mangled on the salient stalagmites.

"Look, I'll go first and show you how to do it," Luna said as she began her crossing. Her nervous sister watched from the other side, trying not to think about the horrible fate that awaited Luna if the bridge gave way. But her attempts to avoid such thought were futile, and her brain ran wild with blood soaked imagery. She wanted to scream, but she forced herself to keep her mouth shut. Screaming might cause Luna to teeter off balance and fall to her death.

Meanwhile, on the bridge, Luna kept a rigid composure as she placed her hooves slowly and deliberately. _Don't look down, _she told herself, _keep your eyes on the other side. You can do this, Luna! _As she walked along, she thought about her sister. She loved Celestia very much, but it seemed that she wasn't confident in her new role as a princess. They could raise the sun and the moon, but a dark shadow seemed to loom over Celestia's heart. _Maybe she's taken the realization of our father's corruption too hard. Oh, gosh! I hope she doesn't lose faith in us and what we can accomplish! _By that time, she had made it to the other side and she called back to her sister. "Alright, Tia! Come on! You can do this! I believe in you!"

Celestia looked up and she felt reinvigorated by her sister's encouragement. So she leapt onto the bridge and caused it to wobble severely. "Celestia!" Luna yelled and ran over to steady the crossing. For a few moments, both sisters held their breath, hoping and willing the bridge to remain intact. After they got it back under control, Luna gave Celestia a stern look. "What the hay was that?!"

"I don't know! You told me that you believed in me, and that made me excited, so I just took a leap of faith!"

"It was blind luck, and you know it! Faith is all well and good, Celestia, but you've gotta look before planting your hooves somewhere!"

Celestia once again realized the wisdom in her sister's biting rebuke, and kept quiet as she made her way across the bridge. When she got to Luna's side, she wrapped the surprised blue pony up in a tight hug. "Thank you, Luna," she said, "you saved my life."

Luna smiled up at Celestia, but then frowned a bit. "No, I didn't save anything. You did this all yourself. I realize that I've been a terribly bossy pony over the past few days, and I apologize for that."

"No, don't," Celestia said, "I need to grow up. You have, and it's benefitted you so much. I need to learn to be a strong willed and determined princess."

The two sisters smiled and joined hooves in a show of unity. Just then, a flash of magic emanated throughout the room. They felt their hooves lift off the floor, as magic coursed throughout their bodies. Luna felt a searing pain on her flank. She wanted to scream, but managed to keep everything internal. By contrast, Celestia felt a soothing heat on her flank. When they got put back down and the magic disseminated, they both turned and looked. "Our cutie marks!" They breathed in one voice. Celestia's was a beautiful and radiant sun, and Luna's was a mysterious crescent moon.

"Hm…" Celestia pondered, "these each have something to do with our power over celestial bodies. I wonder why we didn't receive them before now?"

"Maybe it's because we didn't understand the power of our sisterhood," Luna remarked, "there must be a magic so deep and so unbelievable in the bond we share. We didn't get that until we joined hooves just now. We truly have left our fillyhood behind, and now nothing can stop us!"

Celestia nodded, and the princesses turned and raced ahead, fearless of what might befall them. After all, they had each other and they knew they could face any trial, as long as they did it together. They dove through thorny bushes, swung across rivers, and solved various puzzles as they made their way towards the inner chamber and the Council's meeting area. But one final test awaited them, and it was a test that would cause anypony's stomach to churn. They turned a corner and arrived at a certain pit. Luna gulped as she remembered reading about the final test. "I…forgot about this one," she said.

"What is it, dear sister?" Celestia asked.

"It's…the insect pit."


	12. The Insect Pit

A/N: Hey, guys! Sorry this took so long, but I was having a major case of writer's block. The next chapter's gonna be the end of this story, but stay tuned for the next one. I think you'll be pleased. Now, without further ado, I give you the only thing I've ever written inspired by the television show Fear Factor. Be forewarned, if you have a weak constitution.

Celestia and Luna both stopped and took a step back out of sheer instinct. They had never seen so many bugs in one area in their lives. They were both a little nervous around the giant horde, and with good reason. There had been ponies who attempted to make it to the inner chamber by themselves. They had gotten past all of the other traps, except for this one. This pit, which was constantly restocked with different biting insects by the palace guards, was the most treacherous trap of all. Its steely and crawly jaws had claimed many a trespassing pony's life.

Celestia felt her stomach churn. "There's…so…many…bugs!"

"I know," Luna said, "it's rather amazing. The guards keep the pit stocked regularly."

"…How many bugs did you say there were, again?"

"The last count that they performed stated 43,000."

Celestia wretched a bit, but swallowed her vomit and stood her ground. She was a princess now, and she had to be stalwart for Equestria's sake. They were going to get across this filthy pit and accomplish their mission, no matter what happened. "OK," Luna said determinedly, "we know that we have to get across. The problem is that there's no way to get across. There's no bridge, and no sides to the pit to sneak across on."

"Well, then, how in Equestria does anypony ever get in to see the Council?"

"When they're led up to the lip of the pit, they have to do something…rather challenging." The Princess of the Night stopped and gulped.

"What? What is it?"

"They have to…eat five of the bugs."

"WHAT?!" Celestia cried out. Her mouth fell open in shock. Surely, they wouldn't be required to eat some of the insects. The mere thought was so utterly repulsive that it caused the white mare to become lightheaded. She stumbled backwards and Luna raced around and caught her before she fainted.

"I can't eat a bug!" Celestia said.

"You have to, for Equestria!"

Celestia stopped and thought about the pledges she had made to protect their home and stop the evil ponies from damaging it any more than they already had. She determined in her heart that she would do anything to help save her fellow pony, even if it meant doing things that revolted her.

So she stepped forward, and used her magic to pick up a beetle. She looked at it as it squirmed in mid-air and she wretched a bit and dropped it. It scurried away into the nearby darkness. "Luna, I can't!" She cried, "they're bugs! It's so utterly grotesque and awful!"

"I know," Luna said, "it repulses me as well, and I wish there were a different way to handle this, but this is the only path we have. I haven't heard of another one."

"Well, think! There must be some way we can cross without having to…eat any of these creatures!"

Luna shut her eyes and remembered the extensive research she had done for this very occasion. Book after book about the Council and their chamber flew through her mind. The pages were reenacted, and she felt as if she were back at her desk, flipping her way through the pages. Then her books told her about the Insect Pit and how the only way to cross it was eating five bugs. After somepony completed the task, the weighted pit would dump part of the bugs down to their demise and reveal a clear path for that pony to take.

She tried so hard to think of another way, but she couldn't see it. "Celestia, I'm sorry," she said, "but it's impossible. The only way across is to complete the task that has been ascribed to us. If we don't do it, and we continue to wait here, the chances of us being found by the guards are extremely high. Tia…you can do this. Just hold your nose and eat it as quickly as you can."

Celestia gulped and grimaced as she picked up another beetle. She held it close to her mouth, trying to force herself to chew it and swallow it as quickly as she could. She opened wide and took the poor hapless insect into her maw. She chewed and choked for a moment before finally swallowing it. Tears came to her eyes as she held back a massive regurgitation. She coughed a bit and turned to Luna, who was also trying to hold her own stomach at bay.

"Luna…I can't eat four more of these things! I feel terrible!"

"I know it's hard, Celestia, but we-"

"I know, I know! For the good of Equestria!" Celestia said in frustration, "that's all well and good, Luna, but what about our good?"

"Don't worry," Luna said, "look, I'll do it with you. We have to eat five of them between us for the pit's weight detection to activate, dump part of the bugs out, and show us a clear path to the other side."

She stepped forward and quickly picked up a cricket and chomped down on it. It was absolutely disgusting, but she held her own and swallowed. "OK, now it's your turn! Just grab one, eat it, and don't think about it!"

So Celestia picked up yet another hapless arthropod and ended its life swiftly. After swallowing, she turned to Luna and silently pointed into the pit. Luna nodded and ate another one. She did it in a very fast manner, so as to trick her mind into thinking it was eating something else. "Alright, Celestia," she said, "one more. Come on! You can do it!"

Celestia nodded and picked up another bug. She shut her eyes and mentally prepared herself. _OK, on the count of three, we go. One…two…three! _She quickly ate the insect, and the pit began shaking as it felt the weight go off balance. It turned over, dumping half of the insects out and clearing a path for the princesses. "OK, let's go!" Luna said. They ran through the pit, taking extra care to avoid the other bugs, and ran into the council's inner chamber.


	13. A Showdown in the Past

A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading! We've come to the end of another adventure, but don't worry. There will be more, and I've already got another story running through the landscapes of my mind. All I have to do is write it, so be on the lookout. I just want to tell you that there's a pony in here named Trotsky, who is named after Leon Trotsky. I wanted to pull a name off of a Communist personality that would represent a corrupt heart (because that's what things like communism, fascism, and socialism are), and whose name works in the pony world. Trotsky seemed like the obvious choice, so I went with it. It seems almost Orwellian in nature. But, again, thanks so much for reading and I hope you'll catch the next adventure!

Celestia and Luna finally made their way through the large doorway that led to the Council's inner chamber. They stopped short when they realized just how harsh of a contrast the room itself was to the death trap laden maze they had just traversed. Bright blue tiles covered the floor, and the walls were coated in the finest gold. Sculptures of each of the council members, expertly made out of very exquisite marble and inlayed with gold, silver, and other precious materials, stood guard at various points throughout the room.

Then they noticed the dais itself. It was beautifully crafted out of oak timbers reaped from the forests of middle Equestria. It had been stained beautifully, and each little alcove held a spot for each council member to work. They noticed that everypony's name plate was adjusted perfectly, and every one of them had their own perfectly stacked set of parchment. Even the tops of their quills were in perfect order. Everything was symmetrical and dynamic. Nothing was out of place or messy. Everything in the room was, in a word, perfect.

The princesses became increasingly angry at the sheer perfection and opulence of the room, while the members who called the place home were so utterly despicable. _A lot of this grandiloquence could have gone to help the poor ponies of Equestria, or the sick, or both! _Celestia thought.

Luna was deep in thought as well. _When I become princess, the ponies outside these walls will take precedence over the ones on the inside. Never again will the Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth ponies be made to suffer at the hooves of this demented oligarchy! _

Both of their stomachs churned, not just because of the insects they had to eat to make it this far, but because of the sheer greed of the Council. The taxes that they unfairly pulled out of the ponies of the land was laced on the walls and in the floor. Their self-righteous indulgence spoke volumes about their cruel indignity, even though nopony ever dared speak against them. Celestia nudged Luna and whispered in her ear, "think of all the honest and dutiful ponies of our dear home whose businesses and lives have been destroyed in order to pay for all this."

"I know," Luna whispered back, "it makes me sick. The ponies out there are bound to the laws of this Council, yet the members don't seem to understand them at all. When we're princesses, we must ensure the survival of _laissez-faire _in our nation. We mustn't interfere with pony's private lives as much as we can."

"But we must create law and order," Celestia said, "that's the only decent way to run a country."

"Yes, and we will, but we must be able to follow our own laws as well. Nopony shall be above the law, and we will only interfere in their lives or businesses if it is absolutely necessary. Obviously, if somepony is going to hurt somepony else, we must stop that. But unfair taxation and all of this centralization shall be ceased under our rule."

"Agreed," Celestia said, "we must put benevolence and kindness before our own personal gain."

The two sisters nodded at each other and proceeded out of the shadows. They stood their ground against the Council, and everypony looked at them oddly. They were awestruck by the type of pony that stood before them. The Council's head pony, Trotsky, found himself unable to contain his laughter and he burst right out in uproarious amusement. The other ponies, except for Star Swirl, quickly followed suit.

"What is this?!" He cried as he doubled over, "some kind of idiotic joke? A prank, perhaps?! Oh, my goodness! If this is your doing, Pie Mane, we need to get you on at more staff parties! I mean, really, gluing wings onto a couple of unicorns?! Oh, it's a riot!"

"Well, sir, this wasn't my doing, but it sure is hilarious!" The blue pony, who was considered the comedian of the Council, responded.

"If you seven will quit your cackling for two seconds, then I might be able to explain!" Celestia said in a rage.

The council members realized that she meant business, so they stopped laughing and turned their full attention to the two newcomers. They weren't exactly thrilled with having their meeting interrupted by ponies who hadn't gone through the proper channels to see them. Trotsky got off of his desk and walked down and stood in front of the princesses.

"You dare to order the Equestrian Council around?!" He asked in a huff. "We hold the fate of everypony in our hooves, and that includes you two. I don't know where you got the GALL to trespass in our inner chamber, and I don't know how you made it past all the traps out there. That part, I'm actually rather impressed with. You've shown bravery and courage. Too bad it was completely idiotic, because now we'll have to kill you."

"You can't kill us!"

"Oh, we can't, can we? GUARDS!"

Suddenly, Celestia and Luna were surrounded by four unicorns magically carrying broad swords. "Now, then, we shall see whether or not we can kill you," Trotsky sneered, "let them have it!"

Before Star Swirl could jump in and save them, his daughters were met on all sides by painful blows. Their blood flowed freely, but they didn't faint. They stood their ground and took every punishing blow. They cringed as each new slash found its mark. Inside, they were howling in agony, but they remained stiff as statues on the outside.

Trotsky couldn't believe it. "Stand down!" He ordered the guards. They did as they were told and backed away. "H…how?! You…were…supposed-"

"Yes, we know what was supposed to happen," Luna said, "but we are now Alicorns. We possess a magic so powerful, that it sustains our life for as long as it burns. The only way to kill us would be to remove that gift."

"And the only way to do that would be to cut us down to our very bones," Celestia said, "we were given this gift by our father, and we will use it to defend Equestria!"

"Even if we do die," Luna said, "at least we know we shall have given our all in the defense of the ponies of this land!"

Trotsky turned and maneuvered back to his alcove on the dais. He sat down and pondered this new obstacle to his own plans. "You two are a pain in my rump," he said, "do you know how hard I've worked to get Equestria where it is today?!"

"Where is it?! Hm?!" Luna challenged, "where?! Where has all your 'hard work' benefitted anypony?! We are laughed at and scorned by other nations! We do not have the respect of the world, nor do we have any allies anywhere. Equestria was built on the fires of individuality, benevolence, togetherness, and, ultimately, friendship. You've taken that and snuffed it out in favor of blind collectivist allegiance to your unsightly group of worthless excuses for leaders! Furthermore, you decorate your inner chambers with extravagance, while the poor ponies are sitting in the gutters of Equestria, wasting away to nothing! No, this isn't the fault of Equestrian business, or the merchants on the main streets. This is your fault! You, who tax both the poor and rich ponies of our land unfairly! You, who separate the ponies of the land into blind groups so none of them can recognize their true potential! You, who drive Equestria to endless and pointless wars with other, rather friendly, nations, and get many of our brave ponies killed for no reason, yet you ignore our true enemies and make dangerous pacts with them! You, who throw a blanket over a cold pony whenever you can be seen, but shun them when nopony else is looking! You, who do not possess the spine, nor the integrity to tell the ponies of the land what's really going on behind the scenes! No, you want to sit back on your dais and wave your hoof this way and that and have everything done for you! My sister and I are sick and tired of your corrupt ways, and we are here to put them to an end!"

"Luna is right," Celestia continued, "from this moment forward, we have been given the power to raise the sun and the moon! Luna has the power to walk in dreams, and she has seen the true plight of the Tree of Harmony, which none of you have done anything about! You have been weighed on our scales, and you have been found severely lacking. We are taking over your power, for the good of everypony! It is truly time for a new day in Equestria!"

With these scathing words, the princesses flew up to the dais and attacked harshly. They drove many of the council members off the dais. The Council had its own private entrance to the inner chamber, and the princesses drove them through that with rapid promises never to return. Then they turned their attention to the members who put up a fight. They quickly dispatched of them, with either a horn to the heart or by tossing them in the same dungeon they had put so many ponies to rot for minor offenses like buying bread from the wrong stand.

Then they moved on Trotsky himself. He tried to get away, but Luna flew over his head and barred the door. "You're not going anywhere, Trotsky!" She yelled in anger, "you're gonna pay for the crimes you've committed against Equestria and all the ponies in it! Now, feel this! This is the anger of a nation, the quintessential rage of our country! TAKE THIS, YOU PIECE OF TRASH!"

With that scream, she ran him through with her horn. He didn't have the chance to defend himself, and he was dead within a few seconds. The two sisters watched their enemy bleed out on the floor in front of them, and looked at each other. They were both a little shocked at just how much blood they had spilled. "Celestia…we've killed ponies today," Luna said.

"But those ponies deserved death," her sister pointed out, "if we had been in a position to pass judgment, we would've done the same…wouldn't we?"

"Yes, of course," Luna said, "it was for the betterment of everypony."

"Indeed it was," a voice said. The two princesses turned and saw their father standing there, beaming with pride. "I'm so proud of you, my daughters!" He said. "You truly have learned what responsibility is and how to claim it for yourselves." He stepped up and tried to hug them, but they shrank away.

"Is something wrong?"

"Father," Luna said, "you…lied to everypony about us. You're just as corrupt as they were!"

"Indeed," Celestia said as she nodded her head, "you always taught us to be ponies of honesty, and to live in accord with all the Elements of Harmony. How can you sit there and preach that at us when you weren't even doing it yourself?"

Star Swirl looked down and the aura in the room suddenly turned very somber. His daughters didn't appear to be angry, just deeply hurt at their father's mistrust. "Oh, my dear, sweet fillies," he said, "I know what you're saying. I've made an awful mistake in lying to everypony about my true relationship to you, and I am going to make things right. I promise."

"No, Daddy," Celestia said, "since we're the rulers of Equestria now, we are ordering you to tell the truth. It's time for all secrets to be revealed, and it's time for the Tree of Harmony to be reestablished to its rightful place in Equestria…"

…Luna sighed as she sat back on her bed. She had forgotten everything about fighting the Equestrian Council until Celestia told her. She guessed that a thousand years on the moon would do that to somepony. Her sister lay back beside her and the two of them felt warm, just knowing the other one was there. "Do you remember how Daddy struggled to tell the truth?" Luna asked.

"I remember that everypony was mad at him for quite some time, but they learned to forgive…and we did as well. Now, Star Swirl the Bearded is one of the most revered ponies in Equestrian history."

"Yeah, he is," Luna said, and then sighed. "There are so many memories since that day we became rulers. My failed romance with Sombra before he became evil…"

"…defeating Discord…" Celestia said

"…fighting off the Changelings, and then seeing them reborn under Thorax's leadership, meeting Twilight and her friends…" Luna said as her voice trailed off in remembrance.

"And being reunited with you after your exile," Celestia said as she pulled her sibling into a tender embrace. "But do you know what the best part of this entire crazy ride has been?"

"What's that?"

"Having done it all with you by my side. I love you, little sister."

"And I love you, big sister."


End file.
